Boat anchor



April 1954 c. F. ANDREWS BOAT ANCHOR Filed Jan. 17, 1951 CHARLES F. ANDREWS K INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 13, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOAT ANCHOR Charles F. Andrews, Fort Worth, Tex.

Application January 1'7, 1951, Serial No. 206,419

1 Claim.

This invention relates to collapsible anchors, or drag hooks, for marine craft, including both heavy and light boats, and it has reference to a mechanism which can be employed for anchoring the craft, or when slightly modified, may be employed as a grappling hook for retrieving objects submerged in water, and its principal object resides in the provision of a compact and inexpensive collapsible mechanism in which is embodied a plurality of readily extending arms, having palms or fiukesformed on their outer ends, orwith common hooks, and pivotally attached at their inner ends so that, when the arms are released, the same will collapse enabling the assembly to be drawn in aboard the craft with a minimum of diliiculty, and providing an assembly which'may be readily released from its anchorage,-orotherentanglements.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of an anchor or grappling hook assembly which is capable of being suspended on the end of a cable or hawser, and having a latch cable secured thereto for readily releasing the radial arms when the assembly is to be hauled in, and thereby afford means for freeing the arms or hooks from undersurface rocks, brush, and other objects with which the assembly may become engaged.

Broadly, the invention contemplates the provision of a collapsible assembly which may be latched in operative position when it is cast overboard, and may be utilized to anchor a craft or for engagement with submerged objects to be drawn to the surface of the water, but which embraces means for quickly and easily releasing the assembly from such anchorage or objects through the medium of a control cable operated at the waters surface, yet affording a substantial medium whereby anchoring or dragging operations may be performed with a minimum of time and efiort.

While the foregoing objects are paramount, other and lesser objects will become manifest as the description proceeds, taken in connection with the appended drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention showing the arms in extended operative position, and iragmentarily illustrating the anchor cable and the operating cable.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the invention, illustrating the association of the latching sleeve member with the cylindrical body, and showing the arms in extended operative position, and

Figure 3 is a perspective illustration showing the invention in collapsed position, the arms hingedly depending beneath the body member.

The assembly primarily comprises a cylindrical body it having means, such as a bolt ll, arranged through its upper end for securing a "bail l2 thereto to which is attached a cable [-3 providing a connection between the assembly and a securing means on the craft on which the device is employed, At the lower end of the body It! is arranged a plurality of spaced longitudinal slots 14 having ears it arranged on each side, as shown in Figures 1 and 3.

A plurality of arms it are pivotally attached to the body it, one in each of the slots [4, and having pivotal connection between theears l5 thereon so that normally they will swing downwardly, as illustrated in Figure 3, on their pivots which are afiorded by pins ll arranged through the ears [5, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3. The inner ends of the arms It have lateraily extending or right-angular portions 13 which are adapted to extend upwardly when the arms It are in operative position, illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, and are engaged by a sleeve l9 which is slidably arranged on the body It, in the manner shown in Figure 2.

A latch rod 20 extends concentrically through the body Iii and toward its lower end has a sleeve 2| formed therein whose axis is transverse to that of the rod 20 and through which a pin 2i is arranged and which extends transversely through the body 10 and is adapted to move longitudinally thereof in slots 22 which are formed in the body It providing for the longitudinal movement of the sleeve 19 on the body ill when the rod 20 is manipulated through a cable 23 from the surface. The cable 23 is attached to an eye 24 at the upper end of the rod 2%, as illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3.

The flange 25, in the form of a flat ring or washer is arranged about the upper end of the body It just below the pin or bolt H to which the bail i2 is attached, and provides a bearing for a coil spring 25 arranged about the body H), its opposite end bearing downwardly against a ring 2? which is slidably arranged about the body It and is angular in section, as shown in Figure 2, having its lower annular band portion 23 impinging against the upper end of the sleeve is to normally retain the same in its lowermost position and in engagement with the inner ends of the arms l6 whereby the portions l8 thereof are latched within the lower end of the sleeve 19, retaining the arms it in their extended positions as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

When the rod 20 is raised by the cable 23, attached to its upper end, the sleeve I9 is raised to release the members 18 and allow the arms IE to drop to the collapsed position illustrated in Figure 3. The arms IE will drop by their own Weight to release any objects with which they are engaged so that the anchor assembly can be retrieved without difficulty. The sleeve I9 is raised against the tension of the spring 26 and it will be necessary to raise the anchor assembly to the surface to rearrange or latch the arms IS in their extended position.

The rod 20 has a ball 29 formed on its lower end, as shown in Figure 2, which is adapted to engage the inner surfaces of the members is and aid in retaining the arms IS in their extended position. The member 29 may be of any form, such as a conical shape, readily conformable to the inner surfaces of the members l8 to properly retain these in their vertical positions, as shown in Figure 2, while the sleeve I9 engages the outer surfaces of the members 18. The outer ends of the arms l6 have palms or flukes 30 formed thereon in a manner common to various types of anchors and the members 30 may be replaced by sharpened hooks, if desirable, for use when the device is to be employed as a grappling hook. Obviously also the arms l6 may be completely replaced with arms having hooks on their outer ends instead of the palms or flukes 30 by removing the pins I! through the ears I 5, thus providing an assembly which may be employed for both such operations as anchoring a craft or for use as a drag line for retrieving submerged objects, such as bodies of drowned persons, and other objects.

Manifestly, the structure herein shown and described is capable of considerable modification from time to time, by persons skilled in the art,

without departing from the spirit and intent of the invention or the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A boat anchor comprising a cylindrical body having a bail pivotally attached to its upper end and a plurality of slots spaced about its lower end, a pair of ears formed adjacent to each side of each of said slots externally of said body and spaced from the lower end thereof, an arm pivoted near its inner end between each pair of said ears and having right-angular portions on their inner ends extending into said slots, a sleeve slidably arranged on said body, a compression spring surrounding said body hearing against the top of said sleeve and normally urging said sleeve over said slots and said rightangular portions of said arms, a rod operative longitudinally and concentrically of said body and having a rigid connection with said sleeve whereby to move the same against the tension of said spring and release said arms, a cable connected to the upper end of said rod for operating the same, and a ball formed on the lower end of said rod engaging the said right-angular portions of said arms in cooperation with said sleeve to retain said arms in extended positions.

References sited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 363,579 Best May 24, 1887 2,012,751 Buch et a1. .m Aug. 27, 1935 2,084,233 Zepa June 15, 193.7 2,540,867 Douglas Feb. 6, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 36,917 Sweden June 3, 1914 79,141 Sweden Dec. 5, 1933 

